Wright says fix is ‘more than required’

Best Western owner Ron Wright says additional safety measures should prevent any further problems with the Night Watchman Inn’s pool heating exhaust system, which led to a carbon monoxide leak last week.

Comment

By Patrick Clement

Kiowa County Signal - Kiowa County, KS

By Patrick Clement

Posted Jan. 6, 2013 at 7:03 PM
Updated Jan 6, 2013 at 7:06 PM

By Patrick Clement

Posted Jan. 6, 2013 at 7:03 PM
Updated Jan 6, 2013 at 7:06 PM

Greensburg, Ks.

Best Western owner Ron Wright says additional safety measures should prevent any further problems with the Night Watchman Inn’s pool heating exhaust system, which led to a carbon monoxide leak last week.

“Repairmen from 5-Star (an HVAC contractor in Wichita) came last week to fix the duct work,” said Wright. “The owner came out last Wednesday and checked over everything his two guys did, then we had the gas company come in and do a check.”

Wright said modifications to the duct systems were made and carbon monoxide readings in the pool and lobby were negative, but that there were slight traces inside the adjacent machinery room, which houses two pool-heating units.

The modifications use a circuit system to prevent ignition of the heating units if exhaust conditions are unsuitable. If air movement, or if the additional exhaust units are not operating properly, the heating units will not turn on.

Josh Diller, a 5-Star HVAC technician, with nine years of HVAC experience said that often the units are used when weather conditions or high winds can impact exhaust systems.

“These units are pretty common,” said Diller. “Anywhere there is a problem with the drafting system, they use them. We service a school that has a big steam boiler and we’ve installed one of these. They have a big steam chimney and until that chimney gets warm, and starts to move the air naturally, they need one of these.”

Wright said he was awaiting inspection by the gas company before the pool could be reopened.

editor@kiowacountysignal.com

This first appeared in the Dec. 19, 2012 print edition of The Kiowa County Signal.